To spread the word of the cause a little wider and involve more people, they should have a "reverse auction".

This is where the lowest unique bid wins. So instead of a handful of rich people vying for winner, you get tens of thousands of everyday people bidding $14.56 or $27.23 or whatever. Theoretically, you could raise just as much if not more money.

If 10,000 rabid fans bid an average of $10, which is not unreasonable, that's a hefty $100,000.